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Sunday, 5 January 2014

Last week we had some amazing videos from Leandra.Don't forget to subscribe to the PaperArtsy YouTube channelso you get automatic notifications as soon as a new video goes up. Leandra's focus in the last series of 4 was using Grunge Paste in all kinds of ways with stencils, tinted GP, Treasure Gold and more.

Thanks to everyone who joined in and made projects alongside Leandra.You are the very lucky ones, as your prizes are brand new, not yet released PaperArtsy products! None of these will be available until Late Jan/ early Feb so you are being well-rewarded for joining in the fun!

1. And the winners are...

Video 1. Sanded foundations : Margriet

Video 2. Abstract Canvas Prep: Hazel

Video 3. Painted Clusters: Jamie

Winners please get in touch with Darcy (darcydotneedles@hotmail.com) with your full name and address.

2. The year ahead...2014 Guest Designers

As you know we have a new bunch of Guest Designers for 2014 waiting in the wings. Each designer is appointed for a semester which runs for 4 months. Each designer is allocated a week of the month to post, either week 1, 2, 3 or 4, and they post Sunday thru Tuesday in depth, technique based ideas to show how they use PaperArtsy products in their preferred style. These posts will be supported with plenty of step by step pictures of how they got from A to B and the issues and happy accidents they encountered along the way.

The designer gets introduced at 7pm on Sunday night, and we put a link-share facility on that 7pm post so that during the week you can join in with the ideas they develop and play along. Shortly after at 7:15 the first post of the week is published. We encourage you to participate as much as you can. Learning new skills, colour combinations and enjoying being creative is not only a great way to relax, but it is also a wonderful way to add to your repertoire of crafty skills, and the designers love it when you have a go at their ideas. They are often available on twitter to answer questions around the time the blog post goes live.

For 2014 we have deliberately appointed a wide variety of styles, and some of them are shaking in their boots, and others are well seasoned at this kind of thing. We love what every single one of them has to offer us all this year, and I hope you will welcome them warmly to their new home.

2013 Guest Designers

We couldn't bring ourselves to chuck our fabulous 2013 contributors out of the PaperArtsy nest after all the amazing art they created last year, and I don't think they want to go either! So we have asked them to continue to participate this year at the latter part of each week with shorter posts that might inspire you to find an hour to do a quick weekend make. They will also be joined by some other one-off guests, again, you might know some of them, and others will be new to you. And of course, you can use the Sunday night inLinkz link-tool to show how you are inspired all week long by the returning guests.

Hello to our shops

This year we are also doing a regular feature introducing you to some of the shops that we supply all over the world. They will be telling you about where they are, what types of classes they teach in store, and which PaperArtsy products they and their customers love. Some of these guys have been with us since we started up 10 years ago, so it will be nice for us to have a peek into their lives.

Signature designers

Darcy will be kicking off a feature of her own in 2014, I shall leave that to her to explain in due course. We also have regular posts scheduled with Jo Firth-Young and Lin Brown will be dropping in too once she recovers from her recent surgery. Plus, our own Gillian, admin guru will be sharing more often this year too. Leandra will keep up the videos of new products and techniques throughout the year.ShowsAs you know, we attend several events during the year, a full listing of the events for 2014 is on the side bar of the retail shops, and here on the blog too. Our first event in 2014 is: February 9th (Sunday):10-4pm, StamperamaStevenage Arts and Leisure Centre, StevenageLeandra and Jo Firth-Young demoing with our newest 2014 PaperArtsy Product releases.

3.The week ahead...Tonight we welcome our first guest of 2014, Clare Lloyd. Clare has all kinds of talents. I think her style will resonate really well with the vast majority of PaperArtsy creatives. She paints, she stamps, and she does lots of stuff with other stuff! Exactly what we like to do too.

She loves to journal in a very mixed media style

Often she adds hand drawn faces and elements to her work.... I hope she shares her face drawing skills and technique, she's really good!

She does other dimensional stuff too like this cute guy, and cards too.

I particularly love the way Clare uses paint and she layers shades magnificently. I'm sure her varied skills will have wide appeal with you guys. Currently she's on a bit of a journalling kick, so I think this could be the focus of a lot of what we see from here, but don't be too quick to put her in a box just yet because this week she's exploring the Squiggly Ink stamp collection. But first, a few words from Clare herself:

Hi everyone, my name is Clare Lloyd and I have been crafting since I was tiny, as my Mum was always sewing and my Grandma always knitting.

My real journey with crafting began when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. I’m one of the lucky ones however and 8 years on I have the all clear. Crafting got me through some very dark days and I vowed not to let it disappear again because of my teaching job.

My crafting style has changed greatly over this time but in the past couple of years I have discovered art journaling/altered art which allows me to become really creative and express myself. At my craft table, I can make as much mess as I like and it doesn't matter; it helps me escape my everyday worries and relax.

I’m very much a mixed media artist/crafter, who loves stamping so my new links with the team at PaperArtsy are a dream come true and I can’t wait to see what this semester has in store!

Clare's first project will be up soon, so get ready... but first, don't forget about....4. PA Weekly Challenge....{Clare Lloyd and other guests}

I do hope that you will find time to join in with our new GD Clare Lloyd this week. But here's something new, Clare will be joined in the latter part of the week with other surprise guests, and of course, if you are inspired by any item you see on the blog this week, then please share what you get up to, and link your creativity here. Your challenge entry can link to your own blog, Pinterest or Flickr pages, or any webpage that shows us what you have made in response to the posts on the blog this week. Just make sure you come back to this post, and use the linking tool below to show us your entry. We have extended the challenge entry deadline to 5pm on Sunday evenings.

Make sure on Sunday 12th January by 17:00 (5pm London time) you need to have your link entered below, and you will go into one of 2 draws to win new stuff.

Draw guidelinesThe first draw is for every single entry listed, so if you have multiple entries, you get entered multiple times. The second draw is only for one entry per name, and the winner of Draw 1 is not included in this second draw. Having 2 draws makes it fair for everyone, no matter how many times you can join in during the week.As this challenge is to show how you have been inspired to action by this week's designer, make sure in your blog post you explain what prompted you to create.Please don't feel you need to copy a designer's work exactly, it may be one small aspect or idea that you want to explore that sends you into the creative zone. You are also welcome to use any stamps/ products / substrates you have to hand, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - but of course it is lovely when you do!The winners are announced Sunday evenings in the 7pm blog post (as above). It is your responsibility to check back and see if you have won. If you are a winner, email Darcy darcydotneedles@hotmail.com with the name of the stamp you would like, and your snail address. We do not chase people for unclaimed prizes.If we are away at an event, then the winners post would generally be updated by Monday evening with draw details.

What a fab choice! Welcome Clare! And congrats to the winners. I am really excited about what Paper Artsy have in store for us this year and am so pleased to see 'old' favourites are coming back too, especially seeing more of Gillian,

Gosh, Mr Linky is in overdrive this week. Still loads of projects I want to try and I'm out of week!! Super kick up the inspiration to start the year with a bang! Thanks so much. Not sure I can keep up this pace but it's jolly good fun trying. Hugs and happiness to you all.......

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Even though we've been blogging for quite some time only just figured out the followers button, so please follow us to hear about all that is new in the land of PaperArtsy. We'd love to share our ideas with you! Leandra